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Fisheries in Korea
Introduction
Fisheries management in Korea involves two levels of the
governments, i.e., the central authority (Ministry of Maritime Affairs and
Fisheries) and the local governments at provincial, city and district levels.
Laws relating to fisheries, fishery resource protection legislation, and
legislation relating to the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) provide the legal
frameworks for management of fisheries sector and protection of fishery
resources. During the past 50 years, fishery resources have been protected
mainly through regulations governing mesh size, fishing ground, fishing seasons,
and so on.
In spite of resource management efforts to control production
methods and inputs, the steady decline of fishery resources in the coastal
waters, and in particular, economically important species such as the yellow
croaker and the hairtail, demands much stronger management control of fisheries
resources than ever before. As the implementation of Article 61 of the U.N.
Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) is inevitable, the government in 1997
prepared an amendment to the rules and regulations in order to facilitate the
practice of the TAC (total allowable catch) system.
To this end, the Government has declared sovereign rights in
the Korean EEZ (announced in August 1996), the enforcement of Korean sovereign
rights (announced in August 1997) and rules for the enforcement of Korean
sovereign rights (announced in January 1998). This law covers all regulations
relating to the monitoring and controlling of foreign fishing vessels, special
rules relating to keeping fishing orders, and supervision/ surveillance of
foreign fishing vessels. The enforcement legislation and regulation deal with:
the establishment of special zones where fishing by foreign vessels is
prohibited; assessment of collateral and methods of payment; fishing permit and
approval of experimental research, including application procedures and
punishment of fishing vessels that violate fishing rules and regulations.
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Capture fisheries
Employment
The total number of households that were involved in marine
fisheries was about 100,000 in 1997, a decrease of 1.7% since 1996. Women
employed in the fisheries sector was 48.4% of the total, revealing an 0.8 %
decrease since 1996. Age distribution also shows that the portion of those older
than 50 years has increased from 55.6% in 1996 to 55.8 % in 1997.
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Fleet Structure
The number of fishing vessels in 1997 was 74,287, which
represents an 7 % increase from 1996. Except for vessels of 100-149.9 G/T, all
categories of fishing boats increased since 1996. In particular, powerboats less
than 25 G/T showed the most significant expansion.
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Landings
The total number of fisheries production in 1997 was 3,244
thousand M/T, which is equivalent to US$3.46 billion. The quantity and value of
capture fisheries consisting of coastal and distant-water fisheries in 1997,
slightly less than the previous year. Important species for coastal fisheries
are: Alaska pollack, hairtail, yellow croaker, mackerel, anchovy, sardine, sole,
leatherfish, squid, cuttlefish. Of these, production of pollack, sardine,
leatherfish and cuttlefish has declined 10% compared to 1985 levels, but catches
of squid, anchovy and mackerel has increased considerably. Since 1995, Korea has
recorded an annual production increase of squid by 200 thousand M/T.
In spite of the difficulties involved in distant-water
fishing, production in 1997 by deep-sea fishing industries, e.g., tuna fishing,
trawl and squid fishing, has shown an increase of 260 thousand M/T since 1996.
This drastic increase of squid catch, both by coastal and deep-sea fishing
industries, has caused drop in market price.
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Structural Adjustment
Structural adjustments of the fisheries industry came about
through the passage of a law for agriculture and fishing aimed at improving the
rural sector. This law was legislated in 1990 and has been recently implemented.
Based on the findings of a recent report, "the study of
the structural adjustments of off-shore and coastal fishing," government
policy since 1994 has been to reduce fishing volume. This represents a
fundamental structural adjustment for the fishing industry. The total number of
fishing vessels removed in 1997 was 135 (48 vessels for coastal fishing and 87
vessels for offshore fishing). Capacity reduction was aimed mainly at those
nonviable fishing industries due to loss of fishing ground resulting from the
declaration of the EEZ by other coastal countries. Eight fishing industries
(e.g., large purse seiners, offshore stow net, offshore angling, trawls, etc.)
are included in this program.
In terms of catch volume, status of the coastal fishery
resources has not shown unusual changes during the last three years. CPUE (catch
per unit effort, G/T) has remained at 3.2 - 3.7 M/T. However, the ratio of
juvenile fish in the catch shows an upward trend, thus suggesting a serious
depletion of resources. There is a clear indication of depleting coastal
fisheries resources. At the same time, abundance of typical pelagic fish
species, such as squid, has been confirmed. The only clear change in the status
of coastal fishery resources is that squid traditionally caught in the East Sea
is now abundant in all coastal waters.
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Bilateral Agreements and Arrangements
The East Sea, Yellow Sea and East China Sea, all traditional
fishing grounds of Korea, China and Japan, are known to be very productive
areas. However, management of resources in these areas has been complicated due
to territorial claims made by all three countries. In 1997, China and Japan
signed a new fishing agreement, revising the fishing agreements signed in August
1975.
Korea and Japan signed the existing fishery treaty in June
1965. In view of changing fishing conditions in the Northeast Asian seas that
resulted from the implementation of the UNCLOS in November 1994, the two
countries began negotiations to revise the existing treaty. Fishery negotiations
between Korea and Japan have been difficult and complicated due to territorial
claims to the island of Tokdo. During the course of these negotiations in 1997,
Japan unilaterally declared establishment of the straight base lines in the East
Sea, disregarding the provisional clause of Article 1 of the Korea-Japan Fishery
Treaty (which states that the establishment of a fishing zone using the straight
base line shall be determined in consultation with all participating signatories
of the treaty). As a result, negotiations between the two countries are
underway.
Presently, Korea is engaged in fishery negotiations with Japan
and China. However, fundamental disagreements about fishing boundaries (and/or
potential ocean areas) still remain. In addition, Korea is in the process of
negotiating or bilateral fishery agreements with Peru, Guinea and the
Seychelles.
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Mariculture
Production by mariculture increased to 1,015 thousand M/T in
1997, up from 875 thousand M/T in 1996. Out of the total mariculture volume in
1997, fish, shellfish, seaweed and others accounted for 2.8%, 36.7%, 56% and
4.5%, respectively. Its value reached US$0.66 billion, a significant increase
over US$0.46 billion in 1996. In spite of the increase in production volume, a
marked decline in the quality of the products has been noted due to the
deteriorating environmental conditions of aqua-farms. This has necessitated the
adoption of environmentally sound farm management and farming methods. In
response, the government has introduced new coastal mariculture maintenance
programs consisting of three components: general mariculture ground maintenance,
special mariculture ground maintenance and demonstration mariculture ground
maintenance.
Total funds invested for general farm maintenance (total of
23,000 ha), demonstration farm management (800 ha) and special
farm maintenance (2 zones) were US$14.9 million in 1997. The benefits of the
coastal mariculture maintenance programs were clearly demonstrated by the
regeneration of aquatic microorganisms and increased production per unit area as
well as improved quality of products.
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Distribution and Safety
Total supply (production+import+ remainder from the previous
year) and consumption (domestic+export+carryover to next year) of fishery
products in 1997 were 4,860,000M/T, an increase of 40,000M/T from 1996. Supply
and demand showed that domestic consumption and import declined 0.5% and 1.3%,
respectively. Domestic production, however, remained at the same level as that
of 1996, with exports increasing by 0.2%.
Planned production of fish and fisheries products is difficult
due to the nature of fish, e.g., quick spoilage, dependence on season, and
one-time mass catch, and this difficulty often makes market prices unstable. To
ensure stable market prices, the government has established the Price
Stabilization Fund for agricultural and fish products. The government reserve
fund is intended to cover 10 items, including dry seaweed, frozen squid and
frozen hairtail. It should be noted that due to the overproduction of squid, the
government purchased 27,417 M/T of squid (a 575% increase over 1996), with an
estimated value of US$23million (a 453% increase over 1996).
Improvement of the fishery marketing system has centered
around the expansion of market facilities, the improvement of consignment system
on landing sites, and the up-grading of distribution capacity at large
consumption areas. Expansion of consignment facilities at landing sites and
wholesale fish markets, the establishment of a new distribution and processing
complex at Kamch'non port, as well as the expansion
of waste and discharge treatment facilities throughout the country have all been
completed with this goal in mind.
As of October 1997, the government has liberalized the
consignment system at landing sites. This policy has been a part of a two-stage
free market system first introduced in 1996. To strengthen distribution and
handling capacity at consumption sites (which include the reduction of
distribution and handling steps and marketing margins, and the promotion of
direct shipping to consumers by fishermen's cooperatives), five direct-sale
market facilities have been established at large urban areas.
To ensure the safety of fishery products and guarantee that
seafood safety standards meet international standards, the government has
revised its enforcement regulations for seafood inspection (August 1997).
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Market and Trade
Consumption of seafood has increased steadily since 1991 and
per capita consumption in 1997 reached 45 kilograms. High-demand species such as
squid, yellow croakers and hairtail was 0.5 (maximum 1.0). Pattern of seafood
consumption, influenced by increasing personal income and changes in eating
habits, showed that consumers were increasingly concerned about food safety and
nutritional values. Competitive market conditions affected by changing consumer
habits and an open market system has also influenced consumers to be more
selective and cautious when it come to seafood safety.
Korea exported US$1,493 million worth of fish and fish
products in 1997, a decrease of 8.7% since 1996. During the same period, Korea
imported US$1,045 million, a decrease of 3.3% since 1996. Major export species
were tuna, fish cake, squid and arkshell. The main import products were Alaska
pollack, shrimp, seasoned squid, yellow croaker and hairtail.
In implementing the GATT/BOP agreement of October 1989, Korea
lifted the import limitation on 31 items on July 1, 1997. Thus, Korea has opened
its market for all 390 items specified in the guideline of the HSK system. At
the same time, Korea has relaxed regulations on export restrictions. Korea also
abolished the export promotion system applied to the 8 items, including fresh
and frozen sole and eel, that was intended to prevent over-competition among the
industries.
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Outlook
It is expected that fisheries will continue to play an
important role in the Korean diet. However, the fisheries sector is currently
facing numerous challenges due to depleting resources, environmental
deterioration, the aging work force of the fisheries industry, worsening
international fishing environment, and fragile market structure.
In order to overcome these difficulties, the Korean fishery
sector will require structural readjustments including reforms to the current
regulations that impede these structural adjustments. Most importantly, the
management of coastal fishery resources, which are the backbone of the fishery
sector, demands more comprehensive and inclusive management system than those in
place today. Fishery resources in Asia have migratory characteristics which
means that the Yellow Sea, the East Sea, and the East China Sea all have
ecologically close ties. This conservation policies and goals cannot be
implemented in just one area.
Although Korea-Japan and Korea-China fishery negotiations are
currently underway, there is a good possibility that the ongoing fishery talks
will conclude with fruitful results as the three coastal nations all share a
common interest in conserving and protecting their ocean resources and
environment. To this end, Korea has attempted, through its National Promotion
Agency, to provide a better redtide warning system, better stock assessment
techniques for TAC, more efficient multispecies management measures. It has also
sought to establish an international fishery resource management body to oversee
the management of Eastern Asian waters.
Korea also expects to introduce a comprehensive fishery reform
package which will be set up by a series of committee established to oversee
regulatory reforms, reform of the distribution system and reform of the fishery
cooperatives.
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Information
provided by the Korean Embassy
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